With back pain being the main reason people around the world are disabled and can’t work—it’s a serious problem.
Half of all working Americans admit that they experience back pain. So, what do you do if you’re having back pains? Many people think you should rest, relax, and try to recover that way.
While recovering by resting might be a good option in some cases, it’s also important that you take care of your back by strengthening your back. The stronger your muscles are, the less likely it is that you’re going to experience back problems.
Continue reading this article to learn about the workouts for lower back pain, so you can protect your back against further injury and help yourself feel better.
- Stretch Those Hammys
How will stretching hamstrings help your back pain?
When you have tight hamstrings, and you’re trying to find ways to support your back like these tips here https://www.everlastingcomfort.net/blogs/comfy-reads/15-ways-to-support-your-back, you’ll soon find that it is difficult to have the right posture. You’re likely to notice it is putting a lot of stress on your lower back specifically.
There are quite a few ways to stretch your hamstrings depending on your mobility and whether you want to get on the floor or not.
One of the ways to stretch your hamstrings, if you’re okay with getting on the floor, is to lie on your back with your leg in the air. Make sure your foot is as flat as possible to get the best stretch. The flatter your foot is, the more you’ll notice the tension in your legs.
For those of you that aren’t excited about getting down on the floor to stretch your hamstrings—there’s still hope.
Spread your legs out wide, but keep it comfortable. Keep your back straight and begin to lean forward, and you’ll start feeling the stretch in your hamstrings. You can go as low as it’s comfortable, but make sure you are feeling the stretch.
- Upper Body Crunches
Situps can be hard on your neck and your back when your abdominal muscles aren’t ready to do all of the work. Instead of putting further strain on your back and hurting your neck—ax the situps and go for upper back crunches instead.
When you’re doing this exercise, it’s still important that you don’t pull on your neck. It’s easy to pull on your neck and hurt yourself because you’re trying to get your shoulders up off the ground. Pay close attention to what you’re doing, and this doesn’t have to be an issue.
To get started with upper body crunches, lie flat on your back with your feet on the floor with knees bent. You can choose to put your arms over your chest or your hands behind your head, but if you want to avoid the neck pulling, try putting them over your chest.
Now all you have to do is bring your shoulders up off the floor, and you’re in business. Now you’re working your lower back muscles as well as your abdominal muscles.
- Table Leg Press
When you do a table leg press, you’ll really be able to feel your core. Being able to notice where your core muscles are is an important part of keeping your back safe, so really focus when you’re doing this exercise.
Once you’ve done these a few times, you’ll notice they help you with your stability and your strength. And that’s a winning recipe for a less back-pain-filled day.
To get started with this exercise, lie flat on your back with your knees bent to ninety degrees and your legs straight above your hips.
Make sure your abs are tight and then straighten your legs out and up. You’ll feel this in your quads as well as in your back and ab muscles. You shouldn’t move any of your body except for your legs, so make sure your core is as tight as possible.
- Sit Down
No, we’re not talking about sitting down in a chair. Well, unless you count an invisible wall chair.
Wall sits are a great way to help your back without hurting yourself. Keep in mind that it can be pretty intense, so you should know your limits and try to keep from hurting your knees by not letting them jut out over your feet.
Start this exercise by standing with your back facing the wall and your body at a distance of ten to twelve inches from the wall. Now you want to lean your shoulders and back against the wall until you feel your spine against the wall.
Now it’s time to slide down the wall a bit until your knees are bent, but not pushed too far out. Stay there with your back pressed against the wall and hold as long as you can.
Many people prefer to do multiple sets of holds for ten seconds. If you’re just starting out and haven’t built up your endurance yet, ten seconds is plenty long enough for wall sits.
- Knee to Chest
You’ve probably noticed that a great deal of keeping your back strong and healthy is through leg movement.
Knee to chest is another important move that can help you keep your lower back feeling good.
Get started with knee to chest by laying on your back with your feet flat on the floor and your knees bent. Keep one foot flat on the floor and bring the other knee into your chest.
If you’re trying to build up the muscles, you might do these pretty quickly, but not in this case. The goal here is to get a good stretch and to build strength.
When you bring that knee in, you want to hold it for around fifteen seconds and as much as thirty seconds. It really depends on what feels good to your back.
Some people find it uncomfortable to hold a position too long and might start to experience pain. While a little discomfort is okay, you don’t want to feel pain during any of your workouts.
- Bottoms Up
Moving your body can be a lot of work, but with this exercise, you get to lay down on the job for a little bit.
The exercise you’re going to do now is called the glute bridge. It’s called this because you’re going to engage your glutes, and it is going to look like you’re making a bridge.
When you do a glute bridge, you start out on your back and then thrust your hips up slowly. Your knees should be bent with your feet flat on the floor and at hip-width apart.
You really only need to bring your glutes up a couple of inches. The goal is to get your body in a straight line from your knees to your shoulders. When you get your glutes to the top, you want to hold that position for a couple of seconds.
When you’re holding this position, don’t let your knees creep their way in, or the exercise is going to be much less effective.
After holding, slowly bring your glutes back down and do it a few more times. You want to create a nice burn, but don’t overdo it so much that your knees start to hurt.
- Lower Back Rotational Stretches
When you stretch your back, you need to be very focused. You don’t want to tweak your back because you’re not paying attention.
Don’t get scared off from this stretch, though, because it can help you release tension that is building up in your lower back. You’ll also be able to feel that the core muscles are working, which will help you be more stable throughout the day.
To do these stretches, lie on the floor with your back down, knees bent, and feet flat on the ground.
Don’t let your shoulders come off the ground at all and roll both of your bent knees over to the side. You need to hold the position for five to ten seconds on both sides for the best results.
Do this a couple of times a day, and you’ll begin to feel much more limber in your lower back. It’s easy to build up tension there as well as in the shoulders, so don’t neglect stretching these areas in your body.
- Lying Down Lateral Leg Lifts
Another great exercise that will give you a good burn and allow you to lay down on the job is lying down lateral leg lifts.
This exercise works the hip abductor muscles, and these muscles are the ones that support your pelvic region. When you have strong abductor muscles, it is much less likely that you’ll experience stress and strain on your back.
It’s pretty easy to get started with this exercise, so get down on the floor on your side. Once you’re on the floor on your side, your legs should be together and only a small bend in your lowest leg.
Before making any moves, make sure your core is tight by pulling your belly button in toward your back.
Keep your top leg straight and raise it up. It should stay straight and extended all throughout the exercise.
When you get to the top of your exercise, hold that position for a couple of seconds. Do as many reps as you feel comfortable doing, but try to go for at least ten reps.
Once you’re done with one side, flip it over and do the same for the other side. You don’t want to walk lopsided after all.
- Bring Out Your Inner Cat
Cat stretches are a great way to limber up your back. Only doing strength training isn’t going to get you very far in the long run. If you don’t stretch your back, you could end up injuring yourself from lack of stretching.
When you do the cat stretch, you’re making it stronger and easing the tension in the muscles.
Get into the catch stretch by getting on your hands and knees and keep them hip-width apart.
Now it’s time to arch your back like a cat. Keep in mind this is another instance you want to pull the belly button in toward your back.
After doing that, it’s time to do the opposite by letting your abdomen reach toward the ground and stretch your back that way.
When you’re feeling a little tense, drop to the ground and get some stretching in. Make sure to do a few reps each time you decide to do these for the best results.
- Weight Lift With Care
You might not think you should be lifting weights, but weight lifting is actually an important part of keeping your back healthy and strong.
If you follow a thoughtful and careful weight lifting regimen, you may notice that you stop feeling the pain in your back that you didn’t think could ever go away.
When it’s an acute pain, that isn’t the situation you want to take up weight lifting. You should speak to your doctor to make sure there isn’t a problem you need to take care of first.
Using These Top Workouts for Lower Back Pain
Now you know more about the top workouts for lower back pain. Instead of hoping that things are going to get better, you now have the tools you can use to start improving your back and the rest of your body.
Now you can choose some of the exercises that work best for you, and if you need to modify, you can do that too.
Do you want to learn more about health, wellness, and fitness? Continue through our blog to get the help you need.
